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Arms of Kismet Mark Doyon, formerly of the D.C. indie pop group Wampeters, has come full circle and started his solo project along with his own label. After their third album "Murder Your Darlings", Wampeters called it quits.
Mark Doyon’s new project, Arms Of Kismet, is an eclectic mix of guitar indie pop, with a little bit of funky rhythms and psychedelia. Influences range from Beck to Robyn Hitchcock to Cracker to Velvet Underground.
Mark Doyon has been extremely busy since Wampeters. He wrote a book titled "Bonneville Stories" and started his own label Wampus Multimedia, which not only is home for acts like Tvfordogs and Kowtow Popof, but they also released tribute albums for Robyn Hitchcock, Lou Reed, and others. Doyon cannot separate music from writing. For him, they go hand in hand.
PIXELSURGEON: What goes on
MARK DOYON: That's a great Lou Reed song.
Your new album is out. Tell us about the LP and your new band, Arms Of Kismet.
The CD is called "Eponymous". It's pop Americana for all the happy feet out there. It's a bit of a challenge to what's going on now musically, but it's not outside the realm of what you might hear from, say, Beck.
Do you have a favorite song on the new LP?
That's like picking a favorite kid or something. It depends on my mood and which kid is pissing me off. The track you or another listener would pick is more important to me.
Can you explain the name Arms Of Kismet?
I think of how fate holds you close, of how it doesn't let you float away unless you try to break free of it. I also think of "arms" as weapons of kismet, of providence, the idea that what goes around comes around. We all get ours.
What made you go to Arms Of Kismet from Wampeters? What happened to Wampeters?
Wampeters made three CDs in the '90s. We closed up shop after that. We're doing different things now, but we still help each other out. Eamon and Scott, from Wampeters, show up on the Arms of Kismet record.
Will Wampeters ever record or play live together again?
You never know. I'd like it sometime.
What does the name Wampeters mean? Where did it come from? How did you guys meet and form?
The name is from the Kurt Vonnegut novel, "Cat's Cradle", "An object around which other objects revolve." We meant it playfully. We met when we were all knee-high to a grasshopper. We practically played together in bands as fetuses.
How did you get the money to start your label? What was it like starting out?
Money? You're funny. Thank you. We used credit cards. We sold cassettes. We played shows. The usual stuff. We put out a few records a year now, but we'd like to put out 10 or 12. Maybe within a few years.
What else were you doing besides making music for money?
I'm a writer and editor, and have made a living that way for a while. Making a living from music is very hard to do but it's worth a shot. If that doesn't work, it's worth another shot.
If you only could do one thing, write or make music, what would you choose?
That's a great question. I'm stalling. I don't know. I wouldn't choose. Why choose? One informs the other so they're basically linked.
Tell us about your book "Bonneville Stories".
I used to edit a fiction magazine called "Friction". I published some short stories there and elsewhere during the '90s. After a while, I started to see a book emerging in all that, and wrote some more stories to flesh it out. The book is basically about existential uncertainty, about how absurd, ridiculous things happen all the time, seemingly at random. It's also about how you can trump those things with your own actions, with free will. At least you usually can.
Who are some of your favorite authors? Favorite books?
I think Dave Eggers is really good. I like a lot of David Sedaris. Going back, I like a lot of 20th century American writers like Vonnegut, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Frederick Exley. My favorite book, if there can really be one, is probably "Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger.
What about music? Who are some of your favorite artists?
Recent stuff, Beck, Aimee Mann, Fountains of Wayne, The Minus 5, Wilco. Going back, Lou Reed, Bob Dylan, Jonathan Richman, the Clash, the Kinks, the Who, The Beatles. I'd go hoarse trying to recite all of them.
What made you do a tribute LP to Lou Reed? What did you think of the outcome? How has Lou Reed's music inspired you?
We released a tribute CD to Jonathan Richman in 2001, so it made sense to follow it up with a Lou Reed tribute CD in 2003. I thought the artists on it did some amazing things. I've enjoyed Lou's stuff since the Velvet Underground days. It's very honest, immediate, unflinching. Despite his rep as a hard-ass, he's done a lot of disarmingly heartfelt stuff.
You also did a tribute to Robyn Hitchcock, who happens to be one of my favorites. What was it about him that you liked?
That was actually produced by a guy named Bayard Catron. We just distributed it for him. We like Robyn, though, because he doesn't care whether you like him or not. But, somehow he does. He's full of surprises.
Can you explain the song "Cuckold of Titan"?
A lot of the CD is about whether or not people get what they deserve. "Cuckold of Titan" is about somebody who didn't really get what he deserved or he did, and then it was kind of taken away from him. A lot of people will figure out who the song is about.
Tell us about the other bands on the label. What made you choose those bands?
Kowtow Popof and I go way back. He's a great songwriter. The others like Tvfordogs, Cafebar 401, and Amateur God were European bands who contacted me, and who I liked. There has to be a passion for the music, from both the artist and the label.
What is your favorite part of your live show? Is it much different now that you are not playing as Wampeters?
It's totally different, because it's just me instead of a power trio. I enjoy the challenge of it, as it's a lot harder than playing with a band, at least for me. It's more intimate, too, which is really interesting. The songs fly or crash based on vocals and guitar.
What kind of guitar do you use?
Takamine amplified acoustic, Guild 12-string acoustic, Parker Fly Deluxe electric.
Your songs are going to be in some movies. Tell us about that.
The songs "Are You My God" closes a film called "Nihilistic Chick", that was directed by Dan Azarian. It is most amusing, worth seeking out. "Cuckold of Titan" is going to be in a feature film called "Sol Sirens". I haven't seen it.
What does music need these days? What does it lack?
I think music has gotten a little better this year. It needs songs, and people seem to be interested in songs again. It lacks spontaneity, mostly, which is a function of overproduction and Auto-Tune and so on. People shouldn't be afraid to sound human when they sing. It's cool to sound that way.
How has your wife inspired or change your approach towards music?
When you're lucky in love, or it works out for you, you tend to be more hopeful about things. I'd say my stuff is pretty dark, but it's ultimately hopeful. The future is going to be a great place to go. So my wife probably feeds my faith in life. She actually doesn't mind me doing this!
What is the biggest mistake you have made in your career?
Thinking promotion was for promoters. I used to make records and then hope somebody would "find" them. Don't ever do that. Get out there and shout, evangelize, stamp for what you're doing. Prove you mean it.
What advice would you give to somebody starting a solo career along with a record label?
Work on it every day. Don't think too much about what anyone says about it, positive or negative. Just do what you believe in doing. If you stick to what you believe in, you'll be original. If you don't do that, you'll be everybody else.
What artist would you like to collaborate with in the future?
You mean if I was dreaming? Ray Davies, Graham Parker, Tonio K.
What are some future things we can expect from Mark Doyon and Arms Of Kismet, along with Wampus?
I'm doing an Arms of Kismet tour of the Eastern US in April. I'll have a couple books, one non-fiction and the other short stories, out in the next year or two. Wampus releases the debut CD from Cafebar 401 in May. It also has a Warren Zevon tribute coming out in early 2005, as well as a new CD by Kowtow Popof.
Streaming Audio
• Are You My God
• Cuckold Of Titan
• Sepia Eyes
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